


Seeking Miracles

by Bounemr



Series: Seeking Miracles [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Epistolary, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-05-21 00:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 11,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6031687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bounemr/pseuds/Bounemr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seeking Miracles is a story told primarily through the correspondence between the side characters of Miraculous Ladybug. The entire story will be written in epistolary format, or otherwise as notes taken by the characters, and it follows our character’s quest to learn about the miraculous and the heroes who own them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Dear, sweet, precious Nathanaël,

This is really weird, I know. Alya the tech girl sends an actual letter, through the mail and everything! Well here’s the deal, Nino and I are going full red yarn on the cork board investigative journalism here. Long story short, I’m going to need you to do me a favor. 

Short version: Ask Alix to talk to her brother and dad. Get everything you can on Ladybug in the time of the ancient Egyptians and any other place where she appears in history. I mean everything. I want time periods, legends, I don’t care if it’s just rumors I want it all.

Long version: Recently I came into contact with someone online. They claim they’re from America, and they’re telling me that there’s someone in their city who acts a lot like Ladybug and Chat Noir do. They’re an animal themed superhero who has certain magical powers and they were asking me if I thought that this person might be someone else with a miraculous like Ladybug has. I’ll show you the picture they sent me when we meet at school, okay? I’d like a second opinion, but I think it’s very likely. 

This means that we can assume that there are people with miraculous all over the place! There’s no telling how many there are or what they can do, but I’m curious: What does someone with a miraculous do when they don’t have Hawkmoth sending out akuma to possess people? What are these other people protecting their cities from, who are they, and what are the miraculous in the first place? (Should it be miraculouses? No, that’s stupid, never mind.) Anyway my point is, there are too many questions, and from what I’ve managed to get out of Ladybug, I’m not convinced even she knows the answer to most of them. So what we’re going to do is we’re going to start gathering information. I’ve been hearing reports from a lot more places than America about heroes in costumes going around and running off without warning (time limit like Ladybug has?). If this is true, and there’s more heroes out there, then we need to start connecting them. They can work together and we can all put our heads together and figure out what exactly this magic is.

If you can get Alix and her family to help us, we’d be able to start putting together the history of Ladybug, and maybe even more of the miraculous (Do you think Chat Noir was in Egypt at the same time?! They worshiped cats, didn’t they? Chat Noir must have been in heaven.) With luck, we’ll learn about other miraculous as well as more about how they work.

Ultimately, this is all in the name of the pursuit of knowledge. I personally think it’s ridiculous that something recorded so far back as ancient Egypt should be so mysterious to us. And if I’m right, depending on what we learn we might make Ladybug and Chat Noir’s lives a whole lot easier if we share what we learn with them. You know as well as I do that not everyone likes them being here, and transparency would really help them. Their secret identities are probably still important to protect themselves from Hawkmoth, but the nature of their power is by no means something to keep secret. If people know more about them, they won’t mind the hidden identities as much.

Oh, and if possible, I’d really like to talk to you in person about your akumatization. I’ve been interviewing the others but I understand if you don’t want to. (Could you ask Alix for an interview as well? I still need to talk to her.)

With love,

Alya

P.S. I know writing a letter is dumb and old-fashioned. I don’t know how much Hawkmoth knows or how much he can access and everything on the internet is fair game for him. Obviously I hate withholding information from the public, but I don’t know what we’re going to find, so when possible we should write this way. Call me paranoid, but I’m just trying to be careful. I don’t want to accidentally give Hawkmoth anything that he can use against Ladybug and Chat Noir.


	2. Part 1 - Nathanaël

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point on, the chapter titles will be the name of the author of the letter. I'm including the part number so that it will be less confusing when the same character has sent multiple letters.

Dear Alya, 

I don’t mind talking about the akuma, but I hope you understand if I’d rather not do that at school. Maybe we can arrange a meeting in our free time? As for Alix, I wouldn’t ask her for an interview. Her power was much scarier than ours were, and she’s not very comfortable with talking about it. I can ask Jalil if you haven’t interviewed him yet, though. 

That being said, Jalil told us he wasn’t sure enough about anything to make a definite claim, but he is investigating the possibility of Ladybug being recognized as either a god herself or as an incarnation of a god, like the pharaohs were. He didn’t mention Chat Noir, and when I looked through the Egypt exhibit at the Louvre (I was there for an art exhibit already, and I remembered your letter so I took a look), I couldn’t find any references to him. Alix told me it’s possible that an ancient Chat Noir may have been thought of as an incarnation of Bastet, but there’s nothing to suggest there was ever a Chat Noir in Egypt at all, so we can’t assume that. I think, assuming there’s only one Ladybug, if she moved from Egypt to France then it’s just as likely that Chat Noir moved around throughout history as well. Given the possibility of other miraculous, I’m curious to who has teamed up with who in the different ages. But that’s neither here nor there. I’ll look through the Louvre again sometime soon, with Alix, to double-check for Chat Noir, as well as look for any other candidates for miraculous holders.

While we’re on the subject, I would like to posit a theory. You’ve probably thought about this before, but from what we know about Ladybug, she’s not actually five thousand years old like we believed perhaps in the heat of the moment after Jalil was akumatized. This means that the miraculous have almost definitely passed hands at some point. They could travel all across the world rather quickly that way, and while I have no doubt you’ve already considered this, we’ve likely had male Ladybugs and female Chat Noirs in the past. So it wouldn’t be smart of us to look specifically for people resembling the ones we are used to.

Oh, I forgot to mention, remember that papyrus scroll that Jalil used when he was akumatized, the one that mentions Ladybug? There’s also another picture on it that we can’t figure out. It’s a picture of a strange creature of some sort. We don’t know if it’s a symbol or just a drawing of something, but it’s connected to the depiction of Ladybug. Alix was mumbling about “companion” and “power” but she wouldn’t tell me anything until she has more time to translate it. She told me she’d work on that as soon as she can. Past what they’ve already done, Jalil and their father are too busy with their own work to help us much more than giving us pictures of what we need, so I’m afraid we’re waiting until Alix can figure it out.

I’ll be honest, we’re both very interested in this project of yours, and we’d love to keep helping where we can. Please keep us informed and let us know how we can help! I definitely think it’s a smart move to take every precaution. We wouldn’t want Hawkmoth to have any more power than he does. And if we do find other heroes, we don’t want to reveal them to Hawkmoth, or else there’s a chance he could target them as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir.

I am worried for Ladybug and Chat Noir though. You’re right that transparency will help the public opinion of them, but somehow I doubt people would be very satisfied with anything less than their identities. I understand why they need to be kept secret, but I think anyone who wasn’t akumatized would have a much more difficult time understanding the importance. To the average person, these are just two vigilantes running amok. Even if we tried to explain that they’re the only ones who can help, I’m unsure of what good it would do. Are you sure that finding out more about the miraculous would really help them all that much? 

Forgive my lack of tact, but while this is fascinating and I do enjoy being a part of it, I think as far as they’re concerned it’s largely pointless. They seem a bit too pragmatic to worry much about history and the like. From what I can tell, most people, including Ladybug and Chat Noir, are much more concerned with the fact that the miraculous does work than why or how it works.

Just a thought.

Regards,

Nathanaël


	3. Part 2 - Alix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This style of chapter is not going to be very common, don’t worry. It’s more of an experiment than anything else, and I felt that this was the best place to put it.

***scrawled on a crumpled note***

 

Nath, be straight with me. What do you think about this?

 

Hawkmoth wants to take the miraculous

Miraculous known:

• Earrings (Ladybug)                            why 2???  
• Ring (Chat Noir)

***Shaky doodle of a creature with spots and a large head***

Called an ally of Ladybug??? What is it?

Source of power? Does Ladybug get her power from whatever that symbol means? 

“Ally” Some sort of animal?

***It’s a mess of jumbled lines in no discernible pattern***

Five possibilities, none that I like

***The page here is nearly black with scribbles***

3\. That creature is symbolic of the miraculous. Ladybug gets her power from the earrings?  
                                                           (“Ally” though? It seems to suggest some sort of being at least.)  
5\. That creature actually exists, and is somehow giving Ladybug power. (Through the miraculous maybe?)

Are her earrings even really the miraculous if that’s true? Could we say that the creature itself is the miraculous, with the earrings being some sort of conduit or focus?

 

This is crazy. Need evidence.

 

Ask Nath to talk to Chat Noir!

We need to confirm or deny existence of this thing

 

• Collect files, if Nath goes with the evidence Chat will be less likely to lie – maybe  
***written in the margin***  
• Should stick to historical data, theories based on current observation may scare him off

I’ll need:  
\- Picture of the creature on that papyrus  
\- Picture of Ladybug on papyrus  
\- Rough translation of text in relevant area  
\- Excuse for asking (Alya can probably handle that)

 

If it does exist, would stealing the jewelry really be a victory for HM? What can he do with the jewelry and not the creature?

How much power is inherent in the miraculous v. in the creature

 

Probably doesn’t exist anyway but magical girl superheroes fighting against evil butterfly demon victims make me more inclined to believe the ridiculous.

Who else might be able to help?


	4. Part 3 - Nathanaël

Dear Alix,

I’m afraid we won’t be getting much out of Chat Noir. I saw him again the other day but he bolted when I tried asking him about that creature of yours. If I were to guess, I’d say he’s not keen on sharing anything without Ladybug’s go-ahead. If we want them to tell us anything, we should talk to them together. They are rather cautious, but perhaps if we give them a chance to talk to each other about it then they will be less frightened of indirectly or accidentally hurting the other. Either that or they just don’t want to tell us, under which circumstances we will be forced to draw conclusions on our own. I don’t see much reason to hide the non-existence of this creature, but that isn’t evidence.

Regardless, if we do approach them again, we will have to consider how we do so. Chat is my friend, but even I’m not going to just run into Ladybug. Alya would likely have the easiest job of it, but we would have to decide whether we want Ladybug and Chat Noir to know that we are looking into this. Otherwise, we can still pass it off as idle curiosity by a friend who saw an interesting drawing in the Louvre. But if Alya confronts them with the same evidence, they will know we are working together on this, and that we’re taking it seriously. They may help or they may try to stop us. We should talk to Alya about this, see how much of a gamble she’s willing to take. I’ll defer to her on this, I think.

Otherwise, if you’re up for it, I’d like to try looking through some of the other exhibits for any hints of heroes. I imagine at some point it will be difficult to tell the difference between legend and the sort of magic that goes on with this, Chat possibly being Bastet comes to mind, but we can at least begin assembling a tentative list of possibilities. Alya is still talking to her pen pals, trying to find the stories she can, so I guess we should keep trying to expand on the history. I’m curious to see if we can find some other heroes before Alya does! And where else have Ladybug and Chat been? Where was Chat while Ladybug was in Egypt? 

Imagine Chat’s face if I told him that his “destined” partnership with Ladybug is a new phenomenon, brought about by a series of coincidences to land the two miraculous in Paris. He seems to harbor this romantic notion that he and Ladybug have always been partners. That sure would crush his dreams.

Oh, it just occurred to me. Have you ever noticed that Ladybug has a power seemingly tailored to stop Hawkmoth? That’s strange, isn’t it? Not only that, but she has three powers in total, if we include purifying the akuma, whereas we’ve only seen Chat display one. Maybe there’s more to their powers than even they know? If we learn more about past Ladybugs and Chats we might learn of powers they possess that they just haven’t discovered yet! That would certainly help them if we told them, wouldn’t it? But alas that’s just speculation. Do you think different iterations of the heroes might have different powers? 

I think I’m getting a bit off topic, sorry.

Anyway, think about what I said about asking Ladybug and Chat for help. We should confer with Alya sometime soon. As far as other people who may be able to help, I’m honestly not entirely sure. Our other classmates may be of some help, but I can’t think of any specific thing they would do. Other than that, perhaps we could try reaching out to Theo Barbeau. He was the one who was “Copycat”. None of us remember much of being akumatized, so it’s a long shot, but if he remembers anything there’s a possibility that he would have more of an insight as to the nature of Chat Noir’s powers and abilities in particular.

Oh, I did want to mention, please call Chat Noir a magical girl to his face. I think he’d get a kick out of that.

Regards,

Nathanaël


	5. Part 4 - Alix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll clarify here, the letter is addressed to Alya.

Detective,

         Here’s what’s up. In convenient list format lovingly constructed just for you.

  1. Egyptian Ladybug’s “weapon” appears to be a yo-yo, or something similar (look closely at the papyrus). If we can find more instances of Ladybug – preferably in significantly different times and cultures – with a similar weapon, I’d be comfortable assuming that that is mostly constant. Nath and I are looking into the Roman Republic somewhat arbitrarily because we need a starting point and Rome is awesome.
  2. Jalil is dumb and you shouldn’t trust the Pharaoh incident. Everything about that was just weird and historically fuzzy (I blame HM, honestly). First of all, Tutankhamen was Nefertiti’s son, not her husband. She was married to Akhenaten, his father, who is famous for trying to end worship to the gods that Pharaoh called on to give him powers. To be fair, Tutankhamen was a literal child and would probably not be above using crazy magic to bring his mom back to life, and he did reverse his dad’s religious reforms. Anyway, point being, if Ladybug fought Tutankhamen (NOT Akhenaten, who died in 1336 or 1334 BCE, a few years before Nefertiti’s death) to stop him from bringing his mom back, then that would have taken place sometime between 1331 and 1323 BCE, between the deaths of Nefertiti and Tutankhamen. (And in case you were wondering, it couldn’t have been Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun’s wife, either, because Tut died before she did.) I didn’t say anything before because I don’t really care but I’m not letting this stay mucked up if we’re seriously investigating this. But I guess that’s why I’m handling the history.
  3. Nath suggested interviewing Theo Barbeau. I agree with him that it’s unlikely, but if anyone can get information out of the amnesia, it’s you. Do us all a favor and pretend that wasn’t a compliment, and never speak of this. Mr. Barbeau was Copycat, so if you can figure anything out, it might help us understand Chat Noir better. All tentative, of course, but it gives us more concrete things to investigate.
  4. Meanwhile, Juleka might be a good choice to investigate the akuma specifically, while you’re chatting with pen pals. Rose might help too, but I was thinking Juleka would have a more objective eye since she’s not easily scared. If you can, and she agrees, send her everything you have. Start simple: demonstrated powers, extrapolated powers, possessed item, motivation, heck, maybe even how they were defeated. We’ll let Juleka hypothesize anything she can based on patterns seen there (LOCATION!!! That too.) and then we can double check her work when she’s done – as we should be doing for everyone. Max might be a good choice to help her, unless there’s something else you want him doing. He’d be a good asset either way. Just a few options if you feel like expanding this little group.
  5. Chat Noir made himself scarce quick when asked about Ladybug’s “companion”. I’m half tempted to believe that it’s real, and if it is, then he probably has one too. But you know this. My point is, why does HM want the miraculous? He’s never said anything about these creatures (-1 points for their existence), so if we assume they are real, how are they connected to the inanimate miraculous? Theoretically, HM would need both. Theories? I’ve got some, of course, but then this letter would never end. We can talk about those later. I’m sick of writing. Back to Rome.



 

Awaiting your orders,

Alix


	6. Part 5 - Alya

Lovely, lovely, lovely x5864^8 Juleka,

Can I ask you a favor? It shouldn’t be difficult, but it might take a bit of critical thinking. That’s why I know you’re perfect for the job.

But first, some background to catch you up. Nino, Alix, Nathanaël, and I are investigating Ladybug/Chat Noir and the miraculous (Should that be capitalized? Miraculous. Probably.). We want you to help out, if you can. I’m talking online to people outside Paris, looking into other possible active Miraculous. Alix and Nathanaël are studying history to look for other Miraculous and to track the ones we know (i.e. Ladybug, Chat, and Hawkmoth) across the ages. They’ve already dug up some pretty interesting stuff, which I’ll explain in detail later if you’re interested. Nino is helping me coordinate everything and organize all the information.

So, what we were hoping you could do was comb through the archives of the Ladyblog and the news and look for patterns in the akuma. We figured that since you’re smart and not usually scared of akuma, you might have a unique perspective when looking at the information. I already have a chart on the Ladyblog with basic information on each one, so what you’d be doing is basically just expanding that. Search through the videos and interviews and look for any correlations, any limits on Hawkmoth’s power, any hints as to what Hawkmoth knows or where he is. Really, anything that could be relevant in any way, and go nuts theorizing!

By the way, we’re writing in letters like this as a precaution, so Hawkmoth doesn’t pilfer anything we don’t want him to know off the internet. But obviously if you want to help, everything we learn is shared with everyone else working on this.

Also, Alix suggested that Max might be able to help you. I’ll leave that up to you, if you accept.

With the utmost adoration,

Alya


	7. Part 6 - ???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in English

Alya Césaire,

What do gods pray to?

~A Friend


	8. Part 7 - Nathanaël

Dear Alya,

Don’t freak out (Alix is freaking out), but we may have found Chat Noir. I mean, a historical version of him. We think (don’t freak out) that Heracles was a Chat Noir. Or, at least, some version of the character, but we’re strongly suspecting it was the original Heracles. It’s possible that what we’re looking at is referencing a later hero, who took the name as a title, but though we’re still confirming dates, Alix says it’s probably the original. I keep saying that, sorry, I’m kind of freaking out.

For reference, this would mean that the Cat (Lion, in this case) Miraculous was in Greece most likely in the mid-1200s BCE. With the caveat, of course, that Heracles is a mythological figure and so finding hard dates on his life is very difficult (the figure we know as Heracles now is likely a composite of many people, but we think that this Chat Noir was a major influence). And if these dates are right, then Ladybug was in Egypt only a century earlier. It’s very possible that she was still there while Heracles was active. We’re still looking for more references to her, to confirm whether she stayed or moved somewhere else. Alix is talking to her family, trying to pinpoint the dates, but they’re incredibly busy with their own work so progress is slower than we’d like.

And though we haven’t pinpointed when Ladybug’s Miraculous left Egypt, given Heracles’ legends, we’re assuming he didn’t have a Ladybug partner. We’re still considering the possibility, though. As Alix said, “History is both sexist and homophobic”. We are leaning towards no Ladybug though, because there’s little evidence of another character who we think could potentially be Ladybug, female or male.

Ah, but I should go into more detail. We think that the lion skin that Heracles is famous for was his Miraculous outfit, like Chat now has his black suit and bell. The Nemean Lion, which the pelt comes from in the legends, is said to have fur impervious to attack – very similar to Ladybug and Chat’s very, very protective suits. (We’re also thinking that the Cat Miraculous isn’t restricted to house cat, and can be a big cat depending on culture and wielder.)

Heracles’ weapon, a club, also has parallels to Chat’s staff. If the weapons are constant – remember that the Ladybug on the papyrus had a yo-yo like object – then it’s much more likely for this to be the same Miraculous that Chat has rather than another Miraculous that just happens to also be a kind of cat.

Heracles’ labors are probably references to things he’s done – with exaggeration and perhaps other people’s achievements thrown in. (Imagine how helpful Cataclysm would be in his fifth labor. He supposedly rerouted a river in a day. While that could just be legend, a Cataclysm would do the job very quickly. And that’s just that one labor.)

Lastly, we did also find a few references – not enough to consider concrete evidence, mind you – of a creature similar to that depicted on the Ladybug Papyrus (Alix says “+1 points for their existence”). We believe, at least for the more ancient iterations, that tracking these creatures will be a major hint as to where a Miraculous may have been.

I’ll notify you with further details if we solidify a date, or find anything else significant.

Regards,

Nathanaël

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rest assured that part 6 will be addressed. This is a letter from Nathanaël, and for now just assume that anyone except Alya has no clue that she got the Part 6 letter. She hasn't elected to share it yet, and thus no one else is going to talk about it. Parts 6, 7, and 8 all take place at relatively close periods of time, btw. I don't date these letters (I probably should), so I know time might be a bit difficult to keep track of. If it's relevant, I'll notify y'all with these notes (unless I decide to and figure out how to best add dates), if it's not particularly relevant, this fic is about analysis. I'll let you do some on your own if it really matters to you ;3


	9. Part 8 - Juleka

Alya,

I started looking into the akuma like you asked, and I noticed a particularly large number of them were possessed within the 21st arrondissement, and the immediately surrounding areas. So I decided to ask Max for help and he was able to organize them all by date. Max says I’m extrapolating, but I think our school is being targeted. The attacks started randomly – or seemingly so – but as time passes, they become more and more focused on the 21st arrondissement. For whatever reason, Hawk Moth has narrowed his search and I’m “hypothesizing” that if he’s narrowing the radius of the akuma, then he’s narrowing in on his goal. That is: Ladybug and Chat Noir.

I can’t say whether out school is actually “targeted” (Ladybug and Chat Noir attend there?) or if a school full of teenagers is just prime fuel for the negative emotions that an akuma needs, but I do think that Ladybug and Chat Noir live somewhere nearby. I asked Max to try and figure out about how long it took for Ladybug and Chat Noir to get to each akuma, and what we have so far seems to support the ~~theory~~ hypothesis that both of them live nearby. Plus, that textbook you found way back before the Pharaoh incident.

If they really do live near the 21st arrondissement, then Hawk Moth has definitely figured that out. Or he strongly suspects, based on akuma patterns. Max told me that there’s a chance our school is only being targeted because of its location. Being so central and so close to major landmarks would make it a good target. But again, the Ladybug and Chat Noir arrival times support the “hypothesis” (Max says not to use “theory”. He’s insisting on scientific definitions), and the heroes’ most common meeting places – even the non-landmarks – are nearby (“…to a statistically significant margin.” Thanks, Max).

Anyway, some other trends:

The akuma vary pretty wildly in strength. There doesn’t seem to be any reliable way to predict it. However, we noticed that in general “Elemental” akuma seem to be higher up on the scale if we’re comparing raw power, and they seem to have more multi-powered individuals than other groups. Single-powered “Control” akuma tend to be more or less reliant on their minions and thus vary depending on who and what is around. “Armorer” akuma are a subgroup of “Control” akuma. They buff their minions to give them weapons or powers, but typically have fewer. Both of these kinds of akuma tend to try to overwhelm and outnumber Ladybug and Chat Noir. We’re considering adding a sub-group specifically for the strategist akuma, but we aren’t sure how specific these groups need to be yet.

Oh, right. Max and I are classifying the akuma. It’s actually kind of fun.

Lady Wifi is a good example of a multi-powered “Villain” akuma, which basically means the powers couldn’t be easily classified into “Elemental”, that’s water, fire, air, earth, and the variations thereof (I had a long argument with Max about whether “The Chemist” should be considered an Elemental akuma), “Control”, fairly self-explanatory, it’s just using civilians or objects as minions that act independently from the akuma (The Puppeteer inspired another long debate in this group, since technically the minions didn’t act independently), or “Illusory”, that’s also fairly self-explanatory, it’s any akuma that uses illusions or shapeshifting without directly controlling the people affected. Reflekta is a good example of a standard Illusory akuma. (And of course, Animan was a hotly debated one for this category. Do I sound like I’m complaining? I don’t mean to. I’ve had a lot of fun debating these things.)

So to put it plainly, right now we have four main categories of akuma: Elemental, Control, Illusory, and Villain. Each akuma also has another classification that by convention we’re just putting before the category in naming them, and that’s the number of powers they have. For simplicity’s sake, we’ve limited it to two categories: single-powered akuma and multi-powered akuma. There are sub-groups within the main categories, such as the Armorer type, but we’re still solidifying those.

I’ll send you a full list as soon as we’re finished making it. After we finish classifications, we’ll measure for relative strength again and see if any trends pop up between these groups. I can say right now, though, that so far, the type of akuma seems almost entirely random. Maybe there’s correlation with motivation? But that would be difficult to test. I don’t think we have a large enough sample size of akuma that we actually know the motivations for, anyway.

Max wants my help with something. I think that’s enough for now.

I’ll keep you updated,

Juleka


	10. Part 9 - Alya

NINO LAHIFFE,

I SWEAR TO ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR IF I FIND OUT YOU SENT THIS CRYPTIC FREAKING LETTER I WILL END YOU.

I thought it was vaguely creepy at first but the longer I sit on it the freakier it gets.

If it wasn’t you, then check this out. I got a letter in the mail a couple days ago. No return address, no nothing. Like, literally just the stamp and my address – that’s not the freaky part I know full well that anyone who knows the first thing about the internet could dig up my mailing address.

This letter is literally like ten words total. It’s just my name in the address, and then the body is literally just “What does a god pray to?” and it’s signed “A Friend”. At first I thought it was some kind of practical joke but I don’t know, something isn’t sitting right.

So I did what I do best. You probably saw me working tirelessly on this, but here’s what I’ve got.

The content of the letter sounds like a threat. But it’s signed “A Friend”, and why would a friend threaten you? So in that sense, the letter sounds a lot more like a warning. But of what? (Goddamn, you’re probably laughing your butt off right now.) I don’t trust for a second that this person is actually a friend – in fact I don’t even believe that they’re friendly, but the fact that it was signed that way, and the fact that the body of the message is so cryptic and out of left-field makes me believe that the signature itself is part of the message too.

Because obviously (assuming it isn’t YOU), there’s a message here. The timing is too weird. Just as we begin to make headway into the Miraculous investigation? Too sketchy. Besides, who uses the actual mail to troll people anymore? They could hit me up on literally any social media. This makes me feel like whoever this is knows what we’re doing. Maybe they’re trying to help, maybe not, but it’s worth looking into if it really wasn’t any of us playing a prank.

So it’s probably some kind of warning, but we need to figure out what. So we need to take apart the body of it. “What do gods pray to?” The way I see it, there’s two big questions here that need to be answered before we can answer that question. “What is a god?” and “Why do people pray?”

So, the second question is probably easier to answer. People pray when they want guidance, assistance, or comfort. So, what does a god go to for guidance? And for that matter, what is above a god? Prayer is a term usually reserved for a higher power specifically.

What is a god? I’ve spent a long time thinking about this now. It’s specifically “gods” as in lowercase and plural, so we’re not talking supreme being here. We’re talking more like Zeus or Hermes. A lot of power, supernatural, and probably immortal.

And my dude, I hit a wall there. There’s just nothing more I can say solidly, and I can’t make heads or tails of this message. But, I do have a theory. It might be a little bit crazy, but by this point we’re all a little crazy, right?

So here it is. After I hit that wall, I got Nathanaël’s letter. He and Alix think that good old Hercules was a Chat Noir. Now, this is actually a big reason why I dug up the letter in the first place. I was going to just disregard it, but then Nath told me that and it kind of resonated. And here’s an interesting thing. What is a god really? Hercules is a god, right? But who did he pray to? The gods. But Hercules wasn’t _just_ a god. He was human, and ascended to godhood through the legends. So maybe what the letter is telling us is that gods _are_ humans. But then what do we pray to? Other humans. It makes sense if you think about a god – God, even – as a story that people made up (you don’t really believe any of that, right? I think you told me that). Gods are given their power by people.

But okay, I’ll get back to that. Remember that I have no proof for any of this and I’m just throwing shots in the dark based on a creepy message that was probably just a troll anyway, but also listen to this. Remember Alix’s little creature? Nathanaël mentioned that there were references to one when they were studying Hercules (Heracles, I guess. He kept saying Heracles, I probably should too.). So why would these creatures keep showing up around Miraculous wielders? Obviously, they’re related. Alix even mentioned that based on the papyrus, she thinks that the creature gives the Miraculous it’s power in the first place.

Now bear with me, this is kind of crazy. What if that creature is a kind of god? I mean that as in super powerful (Miraculous), supernatural (the running theory right now is that it possesses the stones and gives the wielder a magical girl transformation. That’s pretty darn supernatural), and probably immortal (If the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous here now are the same ones that the Egyptian Ladybug and Heracles had, then there’s a chance that the creatures are the same as well. But the potential breeding habits of these creatures is an entirely different letter that I fully intend to write.).

In that sense, can we consider them gods? And if we do, could they be the gods that this mysterious letter is referring to? So who do they pray to? If those assumptions are true (Which, _god_ , I’m really stretching here, so they probably aren’t), then those little gods would probably look to the wielders for guidance, assistance, and comfort. Likewise, the wielder probably goes to the little god for those things.

And that’s what I was getting at with that other point. Do you think it’s possible that these creatures tied to the Miraculous are living symbiotically with humans? Or at least their wielder. (That sounds bad when we’re talking about a creature. Let’s go with “Keeper”.) Like, imagine having a little immortal being living with you. We’re only just getting tentative evidence that they _ever_ existed, so they would obviously stay hidden for the most part. This means that their keeper probably feeds and takes care of them. In exchange, the little god gives the keeper power to fight whatever evil is around at the time. Not exactly an equivalent exchange, but it makes a strange amount of sense, doesn’t it? It’s probably in the gods’ interest to stop or restrict the kind of evil going on – Hawkmoth – to preserve their keepers (humans in general here) because they’re largely if not entirely dependent on us for food and presumably survival.

Do you think a god can starve to death? Does a god even need to eat?

I’m going to get a headache, but honestly this is way too much fun.

Come to think of it, the creature on the papyrus has similarities to ladybugs, didn’t it? Or rather, it seemed designed to be cute. Surely it’s stylized – Egyptian art and all that – but you know, large head, big eyes, those kinds of things trigger responses in us humans and even in animals that make us want to take care of it. Because we think it’s cute and see it as a baby, because those are features that babies have. We bred those traits into dogs, you know. But that creature had spots and antennae. It’s probably just depicted that way because of its relationship to the Egyptian Ladybug, but representing an animal is also a possibility. Maybe the Chat Noir god looks like a cat? If they take the form of animals, that could also be another adaptation to make them seem more appealing to us. To make us want to take care of them.

And now that I’ve written all that out, the letter seems a whole lot less insidious.

I’ve ranted enough about that. We can talk more on that topic later. So, I want your honest opinion on this. Should I try to find Ladybug and Chat Noir? Like, should I try to find their identities? I feel like I have enough information to make another serious attempt, and if I do, that could help our investigation immensely. But we do still need to consider their safety as well as our own.

Speaking of which, we need a meeting soon – probably after Juleka and Max finish their akuma taxonomy session – to decide how much of what we’ve found so far goes public. I’m not going to go posting stuff without more opinions. You read Juleka’s letter. I think there’s a very real chance that my video about Ladybug’s textbook tipped Hawkmoth off on where Ladybug lives. I double-checked with Max, and there was a “statistically significant” change in the akuma radius after the Pharaoh. I’m not trying to sound presumptuous or vain or anything (Hawkmoth himself reads my blog, ha!), but it’s something we should consider.

And there’s still this mystery letter. If it is a warning like I thought at first, we still don’t know what it’s warning us about. I think it’s more of a riddle, though. Should we bother trying to find whoever sent it? I’m not sure it’s possible – we’d be using too many resources that we could focus on other areas, and with nothing more than this letter, there’s not much to go on.

My next immediate goal, though, is America. There’s this girl in Texas that I’m talking to, she’s been telling me about a hero that sounds like a Miraculous keeper. He’s even more mysterious than Ladybug and Chat Noir, from what I hear. My contact doesn’t even know what he does. Without a Hawkmoth, what does a Miraculous keeper do? Maybe he’s just chilling, but the stories I’m hearing imply that he’s up to something. I imagine that the history of the Miraculous is littered with keepers fighting each other, but that can’t be the only thing. This guy in Texas is operating independently and seemingly non-maliciously. I can show you the conversations, but I think you’ll agree he’s doing _something_ , we just don’t know what.

Personally, I’m considering the supernatural. If gods exist, if akuma exist, and Miraculous keepers exist, could other things exist as well? Ghosts, werewolves, vampires, you know? What do you think?

Last reminder that if you wrote that letter then you better fess up now. The later the confession comes, the deeper the layer of hell you’ll end up in.

Love you,

Alya


	11. Part 10 - Alix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Letter addressed to Alya.

O Captain! My Captain,

I’m laughing so hard, oh my god.

So, we found the Ladybug during Heracles’ time. Reminder, this is around the mid-1200s BCE. So it’s likely that the Ladybug Miraculous went straight from Egypt, in the 1300s, to Greece, where it was in the 1200s.

And no, don’t think that because it was in Greece that Ladybug and Chat Noir were partners then.

Basically, there’s two stories of Hippolyta – the Grecian Ladybug. I’ll spare you the details of why we think she’s a Ladybug. Needless to say, that little creature on the papyrus popped up again, and I came across some interesting discoveries. Talk to me later if you really want all the gritty details.

The first story is about Theseus – so mostly unrelated to our good friend Heracles. In short, Theseus went to the Amazons and they were all nice and pleasant and Hippolyta boarded his ship to bring him gifts, and he just sailed away, kidnapping her. Her willingness to go with him varies from story to story, but in the end they get married and have a kid. The end. Oh, except for the part where Theseus goes ahead and marries Phaedra, and Hippolyta goes back to the Amazons to start the Attic War.

There are so many variations of this – the Amazons attack during Hippolyta’s wedding rather than Phaedra’s, Theseus’ expedition is actually the same one as Heracles’ and the one he kidnaps is Antiope, Heracles kidnaps Hippolyta and just gives her to Theseus.

Basically, in all versions, Hippolyta and Heracles aren’t exactly buddies.

But you’re probably interested in Heracles’ ninth labor, aren’t you? He was sent to get Hippolyta’s girdle. According to the myth, she was actually pretty agreeable to it. Because the Amazons were actually really chill and friendly. Heracles told her why he was there and she agreed to let him take the girdle. But, because this is Heracles, Hera decided to screw everything up and convince the Amazons that Heracles was trying to kidnap her – funny when you consider the Theseus myth in conjunction, but let’s assume he wasn’t – when he saw all the Amazons trying to attack his ship, he killed Hippolyta and took the girdle before sailing off (this is also when he supposedly kidnaps Antiope. Hippolyta and Antiope get kind of mixed up so just assume that either one could be the other.).

Anyway, so there’s your fun fact of the day. In the mid-1200s BCE, it is very likely that the Grecian Chat Noir killed the Grecian Ladybug.

I’m laughing now but seriously don’t tell today’s Chat, this would actually break his heart.

Your Obedient Servant,

Alix


	12. Part 11 - Nino

My Main Dudette,

First of all, I swear I did not send that letter. That’s just legit creepy.

But girl, that stuff you said makes sense to me. “God” is shorter than “ambiguous pixie thing” anyway, so we may as well call them that. I’ll file your theories away and change the name of that folder. I hope I wrote that in pencil. I’ve stolen enough folders from my mom.

Anyway, if we’re taking a vote, I say wait. I wouldn’t try to figure out who Ladybug and Chat are unless it’s super necessary. We’re already making ourselves targets for Hawk Moth. No clue if we can be possessed again, but I wouldn’t risk it. We don’t know how much Hawk Moth can pick from our brains.

Don’t search for the letter guy either. The dude seems harmless, and we’re being careful anyway. I think I agree with you that it was just a riddle. Let me know if he sends you anything else. WE can try to get a team together for that if it happens again.

As for America… girl, the Miraculous keeper there could be fighting the two-party system for all I know. I’m not counting anything out, though, could even be real demons. Was it you that told me “akuma” means “demon”? Whatever. Try getting your girl in contact with him. If she’s anything like you, it won’t take more than a few days.

Not exactly thrilled at the idea of ghosts, werewolves, and vampires though. Do you think they could be in Paris, too? Do you think Ladybug and Chat fight them as well as the akuma? Or is America really just that messed up? I hope it’s that one. Good job, I’m going to be having trouble sleeping tonight.

Last thing, I read over Alix’s most recent findings. The whole deal with Hippolyta and Heracles? It reminds me just what we’re dealing with. We’re super lucky that Chat Noir is so chill. His power in the wrong hands is literally a kill switch. We don’t know the limits of Ladybug’s power, but she literally creates stuff from nothing. In the wrong hands, that could be just as devastating.

Girl I know you and the others are having fun doing this but I’m legit scared. There’s so many things we’re discovering that have serious implications. Everything from morally ambiguous Chat Noirs to the American’s secret agenda it’s just feeling a lot bigger than I thought it would be. I want to help, because I want to do anything I can to give Ladybug and Chat an edge, because who knows what would happen if Hawk Moth got a hold of the Miraculous. I’m kind of scared of what else we’ll find. What if your girl talks to the American Miraculous and find out he fights ghosts? Like, the only reason I don’t sleep with a night light is because I’m pretty sure that stuff doesn’t exist. But now we’re talking about them being real. Like, not ironically? What about mythology? If Heracles and Hippolyta were legit people and their stories are largely true. With all this talk of gods and magic, what if there really are gods out there? Not like the creatures that pair with the Miraculous. I’m talking Zeus, Apollo, Loki, Thor. If magic is so abundant, how can we say that they didn’t exist? Or don’t still exist?

Okay, I’m kind of freaking out. What kind of implications do the Miraculous have for religion? Did people worship Miraculous keepers? You know, the whole “Chat being Bast” thing that Alix mentioned when we started.

I’m going to stop. Sorry I’m being a downer, but dude. Kind of having a crisis of faith. But like, backwards. This is so stupid.

Later girl,

Nino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I have prepared (well, I do have a future chapter that's set for like 3 chapters forward, but that's neither here nor there), and I'm probably going to be a little busy for the rest of the week, so these daily updates are going to stop. Probably at least until the end of the week.  
> Fun fact my birthday is this Saturday. So I'm going to be busy over the weekend too. It shouldn't be too long, anyway, but I thought I'd mention that since I've been updating so regularly. You might not get another letter until next week.


	13. Part 12 - Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in English

Ladyblogger,

Since I never want to deal with international shipping ever, I’ll try to pack as much as I can into this letter. If you have questions, use like a coded email or something. Hawk Moth can go fuck himself. I kind of wrote this as I learned stuff so different parts are written on different days fyi. Anyway.

Phase one was a huge success. I’m working on Iris West-ing this guy but it’ll take a while before he trusts me. Unlike the Flash, I’m pretty sure he’s not my childhood friend/adopted brother/love interest. Actually, I’m totally sure because I don’t have the first two and am very gay.

Wait, do you even have the Flash in France? Eh, I’m talking season one coffee shop meetups anyway. You get the point.

I did get a good look at him, though. He’s in white – which you knew – and if I may say so he’s damn attractive. Anyway, there wasn’t enough for me to tell you exactly what he’s supposed to be, but based on the adorable little ears on his head, I’m guessing a polar bear. He also carries a Frisbee – sorry, “discus” – as his weapon. No word on powers yet.

We had a pretty short conversation, but he did mention demons. I seriously doubt he meant akuma, so I have to assume he meant traditional demons. Before he took off, he mentioned something about “cubi” being especially annoying. Could he mean succubi? I’ll continue investigating. Let me know if anything changes on your end.

But here’s the really creepy thing. You never gave my info to your friends, did you? Because I got the same letter as you. The “what do gods pray to” one. As if international postage wasn’t already ridiculous. That means this guy is either really serious about his cryptic messages or doesn’t know I’m working with you. Personally, I’m guessing it’s insurance, so we don’t disregard it as trolling. Or a really devoted troll.

Update: I talked to Polar Bear again. First of all, I was right, he’s a bear – well, more of an otter really, but his superhero persona is a bear. Second, he told me something kind of profound. When I asked him what he was doing, he sighed and said, “a story should be told to anyone who wants to listen.” His mentor apparently said that to him. It’s a good philosophy, I think, especially because it gives me the scoop.

So, summarizing, your creature – the one your history team keeps talking about? – the Miraculous Keepers call them “Kwami”. Or at least Polar Bear did. Given he has one, I’ll trust it.

When I asked him what he was doing, he told me, “keeping peace” and asked me to ask him the next day, with a warning that “the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ wasn’t written by the ignorant”.

Skipping ahead, I asked him the next day – of course – and he told me. It turns out that he acts like a kind of magical diplomat. Unlike your guys. He actually talks to the magical beings and tries to solve their problems. Witches, demons, and shades were his examples, so those are the ones I have confirmed – I’m questioning how we should define “demon” though if they can be talked to diplomatically. And dryads. Apparently, there’s like a dryad uprising or something? He wouldn’t go into it. It’s still touchy or something.

I did ask him about witches, though, since you know witches are typically supposed to be just humans but more magical at least in our modern culture. Well, like everything else, he says he’ll leave them alone if they aren’t causing trouble, but if they keep being problematic then he’ll usually target their demon – usually incubi. He also said that incubi suck to fight because of NSFW reasons which I found hilarious. Also, he’s gay so that doesn’t help. Basically ‘cubi – even succubi he said (though I’m not totally sure if there’s even a difference since some of them can change???) – have the ability to make you really horny just via proximity. Who would have thought?

There’s more – I could go on for days about this – but suffice it to say that magical culture is a thing that exists. I’ll be shifting my focus from the miraculous to the magical community as a whole, so I won’t be so helpful after this, but I’ll keep you updated with any insights. Members of the magical community are sure to know more about the Miraculous anyway. So, don’t worry girl, I’m not dropping you. I could never do that. Before I get too distracted with witches and therianthropes, I’m going to try to get in contact with Polar Bear’s mentor – and get both of them in contact with you.

Keep me updated,

Chase Williams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up bumping the rating up to T because of Chase's jokes and language. But that's all, really.
> 
> Also we finally have an oc in this story haha you all knew this was coming I did tag original characters after all. All ocs will be more minor though. The bulk of correspondence will be with the classmates regardless.


	14. Part 13 - ???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A letter sent to Alya, written in English.

Fun, is it? Mathematics. There're solid results there. Little ambiguity. It’s also so simple. Sometimes you just have to subtract “n” to solve. I’ve discovered that empirical approaches satisfy few without philosophy’s aid, though. Mull it over.

~A Colleague


	15. Part 14 - Alya

Love Interest #1,

Nino, I am freaking out. Did you read my American contact’s letter yet? This is insane. It’s beyond insane. How could I have not known about an entire freaking community?! I need interviews, contacts, no we need a team. A team to liaise with the magical community here in Paris. I’m thinking Rose. I mean, I’d love to do it, but unfortunately good leadership is all about good delegation. Do you think Rose? I’m thinking Rose. She’s sweet and friendly and I’m sure she’d have lots of fun making friends with the magical folk.

I’m a little worried that she might be a bit naïve though, so we need to pick a second that will compliment her. Actually, now that I think about it, how about Juleka? We could pull her from the akuma team and ask Sabrina to fill in for her. They’re done with classification so all they’re doing is looking for trends anyway and Juleka told me they’ve hit a wall. A fresh perspective in that team might be just what it needs, and Juleka would definitely want to be with Rose if she tries to make contact with the magical community.

Do you think their relationship would be a problem? It’s a little bit of a gamble, I think, but it’s 2016, I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m just nervous because we don’t know anything about this community. I’d think that such an underground community would be able to relate to us in the queer community but that’s presumptuous and potentially dangerous. For all I know, the magical community could be like dark ages traditional. What do you think? I don’t want to send those two somewhere they might be targeted.

Another reason to do it myself. But unfortunately I’ve got another letter to figure out and other teams to manage. Speaking of. I cannot figure out this letter for the life of me. You look at it, maybe you’ll have more luck. All I could tell was that it looked like the same handwriting as our “friend”. But this one is signed as a colleague? And there’s no address for some reason. Like even we put addresses in our letters (even if we play around with them). And our “friend” put an address in that letter, so I don’t see why they would omit it now. I tried counting the words and characters but it doesn’t make any sense. Unless “nine” was some sort of major clue for the last letter – that one had nine words exactly, including the address and signature. This one is thirty-nine, which isn’t even a multiple so I don’t know what it could mean.

Plus, what the heck is this “colleague” talking about? Maths? Are they trying to tell us to look at the miraculous empirically? Because I thought we were. The akuma team is at least, and I’ve been listening closely to Max’s advice on this so I don’t get what’s up.

They also say that looking at it that way won’t be satisfying. That we need “philosophy” too.

And if this is the same person (you still have the original letter, right? Compare the handwriting for me?), why the change from “friend” to “colleague”? And is it just me or is it worded really strangely? Like there are much easier ways to say that. I’ve been looking at that but no luck so far.

If you could do me another favor? Ask around for help on this? I’d like to focus on getting everything organized and together. With my American contact’s letter, there’s a lot of new information and it’s a bit disorganized right now. I know that’s kind of your job but I need to review everything and it’s convenient for me to organize it all at the same time. If you could take over this colleague’s letter for me that would be great.

And Nino, you can talk to me. Don’t worry about the implications of a magical community yet. Let that team, whenever we put it together, get information first. You always reminded me to get all the information before jumping to conclusions. Now I’m returning the favor. And if it gets overwhelming, you come over and we will have the most legendary feelings jam in the history of feelings jams.

Hugs and kisses,

Alya


	16. Part 15 - Nino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarification: The letter is addressed to Alya

Light of My Life #1,

Sorry this took so long to write; I was kind of busy trying to get everything done. But you should be proud of me! I hope. God.

Okay good news first. I put together our Magical Community team. After showing Rose and Juleka the letter, it was pretty easy to convince them – and I warned them about your concerns, but they laughed at me and said that they can handle it. I believe them, anyway. I spent some time with them to try and get them started. We found a website for a bar nearby – one friendly to underage patrons, don’t worry – that we think caters to therianthropes. “Weres” was the word that the internet was using. Probably short for “werewolf”, or just a catch-all term for any sort of therianthrope. You know, using just the prefix that would be constant if like a werecat were a thing. Do you think there are more than just werewolves? That would be “lycanthrope”, right? So, I guess the fact that your American contact said “therianthrope” is an indication, though she didn’t actually say that Polar Bear told her about them, so I’m not sure what to believe yet.

Anyway, I got a little distracted there. We found the bar online, and from what we can tell through reviews and its website it’s a pretty good atmosphere so I’m not super nervous about sending a team there – therianthropy aside – but they’re still planning on the best approach. Right now, we’re kind of just planning for them to go and hang out. They’ll look around, act like girls just looking for a nice place to chill, you know? And look for any telling activity. We’re hoping it won’t be too under the radar if you’re looking for it. Once they get confirmation, they’re going to try initiating contact.

And I have to say, just to say it, I have seriously browsed sites recently that just last month I would have laughed at. I’m not sure what’s trolling anymore. Like when these people online talk about vampire meetups do they mean ACTUAL vampires or are they joking or??????

God, why is this our lives now?

But back to topic. That’s where we’re at on the MC team. The CL (creepy letter) team is also making a lot of progress. Probably. That’s the bad news.

Quick interjection before starting this story to say that I did compare the handwriting of the Colleague to the Friend, and as far as I can tell, they’re a match.

So I was conferring with Mylène, right? I was explaining to her the situation and had her read the letter and everything. It was pretty chill because while I was there on that side of the classroom I could ask Sabrina to fill in for Juleka on the Akuma team. But, of course, Chloé heard me.

I know, I know, but it’s not all bad. I think she actually figured out part of the letter! When she stole it, she looked at it and, in her usual manner, pointed out that the weird wording was specifically avoiding using the letter “n”. As in “n” is only used twice in the entire letter. In the first word, and while the Colleague is talking about maths, telling us to “subtract n”. So, we did. That changed the first line to “Fu, is it?” which after a little bit of thinking we interpreted as a name – as the address of the letter. It makes that particular sentence make way more sense, since I’m pretty sure it would have been better to say “Fun, isn’t it?” rather than leaving off that “not”.

That’s really weird sentence structure actually, if you expand the contraction. “Fun, is not it?” I guess that’s just some rearrangement though. Whatever, English is hard anyway. Why can’t your creepy guy write in French? I’ll think about that later though to distract me from ghosts and werewolves thanks.

The point is, and this is the probably bad part, Chloé kind of took it upon herself to lead the CL team, and said she’d find this Fu guy herself. I did convince her to wait until we can assign her a partner – you have no idea how hard it was to keep Sabrina on the Akuma team – but I figured you’d know what to do. Do it fast, though. You know Chloé isn’t patient.

And don’t get mad at me, but even though she needs a partner (A decision I will certainly not make because I will not be responsible for sticking Chloé on one of our friends) I do think we should let her help. She’s probably in a better position to find one person in Paris (maybe not even in Paris, actually) than any of us, and despite her personality, you know she loves Ladybug. She seems legitimately interested in our work.

A story should be told to anyone who wants to listen, right?

Oh, god, I just argued in favor of working with Chloé. The ghosts must have gotten me. Alya, I think I’m possessed. Can I cash in on that feelings jam?

Punch me in the face please,

Nino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking about it and realized that it was a little unfair to not indicate that the mysterious letters were written in English, so I have retroactively put indications up in the notes and will take care to do so in the future. Unless otherwise noted, the bulk of the content is "translated" from the French that the kids would normally use.


	17. Part 16 - Alix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Letter addressed to Alya.

Detective,

You’re going to want to see this. Like, as soon as possible.

We were tracking old Miraculous Keepers, but something strange keeps happening. The Keepers just disappear. First, there were people like Spartacus in the first century AD. We didn’t think much of it, you know, because he probably just died in battle, even though his remains were never recovered.

And there’s fuzzy ones, like Apollonius of Tyana (If you don’t know who he is, basically Jesus), who we don’t have much credible writings on.

But then when signs point to people like al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh (he’s one of the Fatimid caliphs. Just think Middle East at the turn of the eleventh century), and Owain Glyndŵr (Welsh ruler at the start of the fifteenth century), that’s just one too many people associated with these things that we don’t have a solid death recorded.

And it just went too far when I started digging up evidence that a Miraculous may have been present at Roanoke. You know, the colony in America that is famous for over a hundred colonists vanishing without a trace.

And those are just famous ones. A lot of Miraculous Keepers never rise to fame. In fact, most of them don’t. I’ve been getting traces of these things all over the place and they disappear as fast as they pop up. Sometimes Nathanaël and I track a single Miraculous only for it to vanish and, as far as we can find, never pop up again.

Now, I didn’t want to consider this, but under the circumstances, I have to. Because we found something. Something weird. And that’s coming from the one studying Miraculous history.

Well, the Kwami pair with humans for a reason. You thought it was food initially, so did I, but I think there’s more to it than that. I think there’s predation, and the otherwise relatively helpless Kwami use the humans as swords and shields to protect them from their predator(s).

I mean, by all accounts, Kwami are small creatures. Maybe the size of a mouse or rat. And they don’t appear to have many defense mechanisms save magic. It would make much more sense for the Miraculous and their corresponding magical girl transformations to be for the Kwami’s benefit rather than just payment for food. Can you imagine Ladybug’s Kwami fighting the akuma on its own? I think they’re stronger with humans at the very least.

And I think I found their predator, or one of them at least. Based on a few scraps referencing it, I’m tentatively naming it Algos. Capitalized and like a single entity because if the Kwami lifespan is an indicator it very well could be (But if it’s like a species like kwami you’d use it like, “some algea attacked me”, or singularly, “I was attacked by an algos”. Whatever way, I’m open to other names. This one is just a placeholder because I am a huge nerd.). Anyway, I settled on Algos (Or algea), the Greek name for the goddesses personifying sorrows and griefs because Algos (literally “pain”) seems to pop up often in reference to these missing Miraculous. Well, technically most of my references are in Latin (Roman), but I didn’t think you’d want to call the mysterious predator of the Kwami “Dolores” so I went Greek with this one.

The only physical descriptions I can find of it is varying poetic ways to say it’s “really, really bright”. But it is consistently described as such. Other than that, there’s not much more I can tell you except that references to it pop us right around the time that Miraculous, and sometimes their Keepers, disappear from history.  

I’m obviously going to keep trying to dig up dirt on this thing. Maybe ask that Fu guy that Chloé’s looking for if you get the chance.

By your leave,

Alix


	18. Part 17 - Alya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Letter addressed to Nino

Captor of my Heart #1,

It sounds like Rose and Juleka are on top of things. I expected as much.

In the meanwhile, you’re right. We shouldn’t make anyone team up with Chloé, that would only end badly. That’s why, if you can handle taking the reins on this for a bit, I’ll join the Creepy Letter team and help her find Fu. I can handle her, and I’ll feel better doing it myself than sticking her with one of our friends.

Besides, this creepy letter guy obviously knows a lot. Or a lot more than us. If Fu is a colleague of his, then it follows that Fu also knows a lot about the Miraculous. It might be good for me to be there when we find him, so I can get an interview.

So, can you handle this for me? It shouldn’t be difficult. Everyone has their tasks and are working pretty efficiently. All you’d be doing basically is sitting on call in case someone has a problem. And I trust you to deal with them if one does come up.

I think we can spare me doing this since it’s only temporary. As soon as Fu is found, or we have reason to believe that Chloé’s interpretation of the letter was wrong, then I can take command again. Not like the Magical Community team, which is probably a semi-permanent placement.

Speaking of, I’m looking forward to updates on that front.

Oh, and a few updates, while I’m thinking about it: my American contact let me know not long ago that she considers herself friends with Polar Bear. She said she’d try to ask about his mentor soon. If that goes well, she’ll ask to meet the mentor. That’s when she’s changing focus, but I’m going to talk to her and probably give Rose and Juleka her information. Since she’ll be focusing on the Magical Community, they can help each other. While we’re obviously still focused on the Miraculous, you know I’m never one to turn down information. At the very least, Rose and Juleka might be able to follow up on hints about the Miraculous for Chase if she wants to focus on something else. The Magical Community is, I imagine, pretty expansive.

Secondly, I got a letter from Alix just about the same time as your letter. I was nervous about handing it off to you, at least before our feelings jam, but you should see it as soon as possible. And if you’re going to be on call for a few days, you should have all the information. I’m attaching her letter to this one, so go ahead and read that before continuing this.

I’ll be honest. Something that kills kwami really unnerves me. I’m asking Alix to look for any patterns to its attacks – which Miraculous get hunted and which don’t – but I can’t help but wonder if this Algos will end up in Paris.

Probably not, right? There’s Miraculous all over the world, and probably the majority of them don’t end up being prey, but still. It’s a little frightening. And don’t even start, Nino. I can hear you freaking out already. “If even Alya is scared then what level of hell have we descended to?” Right? But no, I’m not scared. I’m worried for Ladybug and Chat, but I’m not personally scared. Miraculous Keepers are often forgotten to history, according to Alix. Most of the Keepers she’s found don’t even have names, it’s just that there was a Miraculous in that area. That’s why, if Algos preys on the Keepers and their kwami, it obviously doesn’t target civilians. If something like that came out preying on entire cities, then there’s no chance it would be so mysterious.

I’ll be honest. There’s a chance that it does prey on normal people, but by observing history, it’s safe to say that we’re typically just collateral. We stay out of its way and we’re fine. And this isn’t an offer anymore, you’re coming over for a feelings jam tomorrow, capiche? That is an order from the love of your life. If you can’t come over I will go to you.

But there’s a bigger question to this, too. Should we tell Ladybug and Chat Noir about Algos? They’re already so hyper-focused on Hawk Moth that they didn’t notice/didn’t investigate an entire magical community – and I’m almost positive it would have been a lot easier for them to find out about it than us. But they’re only our age, you know? They’re already stressed with Hawk Moth. I’m not even convinced telling them about the Magical Community would be wise until Hawk Moth is dealt with.

If we accidentally end up distracting them in some misguided attempt to warn them, we could end up helping Hawk Moth win.

Should we warn them? Algos is a threat, even if it is unlikely. Or maybe we should focus on finding out everything we can about Algos, and trying to find a way to identify it if it does show up and how to stop it – which we could share with Ladybug and Chat if it becomes necessary. I mean, obviously, we’re doing that. In fact, I’m even thinking about diverting more resources to Alix for the History team. Mylène is her seat buddy, they’re friends and they work together a lot. Maybe she could help? Do you know if Mylène is interested in History? If not, then I’m sure we could turn it into a competition and get Kim helping. We might do that anyway, depending on how Alix feels about leading a whole team rather than just working in a pair. Ivan might be willing to help Mylène.

And that’s literally everyone, isn’t it? I’ll have a quick chat with Alix to ask about expanding the History team and to get everything I can on Algos. If possible, I’ll ask Fu about it. And we should forward that information on Algos to Rose and Juleka. Maybe someone else in the Magical Community knows more about it.

And by “we” I mean you if you’re up for it. I need to work double time to check up with Alix and find Chloé so we can get started before the queen bee pops a gasket. Just show Rose and Jules the letter and ask them to keep an eye out for any more information, alright?

With all the love,

Alya


End file.
